PLANT FOR PUBLIC WORKS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 149, 12 July 1937, Page 6

PLANT FOR PUBLIC WORKS

PreiB Aasociation.)

Colonel Hargest Replies To Minister AMERICAN MACHINES

By Tolegraph-

WELLINGTON, This Bay. • The purchase of certain xoad-mak-ng machinery by the Government was the subject of a statement yesterday by Colonel J. Hargest, M.P. for Awarua, in reply to the comment of the aetingMinister of Customs, the Hon. Mark Pagan, on Saturday. Colonel Hargest said that as he was not speaking publicly in the province for some little time, he would thank the Minister for his explanation which was full, if not entirely satisfactory. "He stated that avery unsatisfactory feature of my address was the implication that the concessions granted under the provisions of section 11 of "the Customs Act' in respect of certain binds of road-making machinery »have been restxicted to certain makes only, and that this allegation was not in accordance with fact, and then he proceeded to eay that several firms have been granted concessions in respect of types of road-making machinery similar to those I referred to. I am glad to tabo note of that, but would dnvite the Minister to pubRsh the names of the makes of graders, bulldozers and carryall scrapers, etc., that have been gazetted since January of this year in addition to those I named. Concessions of this kind surely can only be legal if they are published in the Gazette? and so far I have not been able to discover the names of any other makes since the date of the first nofrice, April 3. "I do not for a moment believe that the Minister would agree to the 'hole-and-corner' method of ; giving a concession without legislative action, but I .would be glad to see the notice in print, ."This, however, I do say, that it has been most difficult for the agents for other makes — and makes -that compete in America on formidable terms with those favoured by the. Gazette. notice— to effect saies to the Public Works Department. What would b'e an excellent 'way of clearing -the matter up would be for the -Minister to publish the types and names of the respective machines purchased by the department since Deeember, 1935. If that ds not possible at the moment -I shall' endeavour to obtain it during the coming session. One other point— the Minister stated that there was no point in maintaining tariff preference on non-exdstent British goods, and that the insistence on payment can only have the effect of increasing the price to local bodies. This was not a case of reducing'tariff preference — it meant- the complete elimination of the duty, and to-day the New Zealand taxpayer has to4find that money somehow cn some other form of laxation in orier to allow the iree entry of favoured types of American machinery into the Dominion."